(CNN) – Stephen Colbert, the Comedy Central host who launched his own short-lived presidential bid last year - discussed politics with CNN’s Larry King Monday night. Some highlights:

On Bill Clinton: “I think that he’s a rogue operative that they’re having trouble shutting down. …He’s a totally separate entity unless, of course, we’re talking about the time that he was president and Hillary Clinton was getting experience by being his wife.”

On the Pennsylvania primary: “I’m a kingmaker. I just want to help the people of Pennsylvania decide who I think they should vote for.”

On the Iraq war: “Certainly, in a time of war, there should be no questioning of our leaders and no questioning about whether a surge is or is not successful. We should start thinking more about how the war is feeling and less about how we are feeling about the war.”

Colbert is broadcasting his show, The Colbert Report, from Philadelphia all week. Barack Obama will not be a guest on the show, but wife Michelle Obama is scheduled to make an appearance Tuesday night. Obama’s rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, is reportedly scheduled appear on the show Thursday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - A Republican congressman has apologized to Barack Obama after referring to the White House hopeful as a “snake-oil salesman” and a “boy.”

In a letter to Obama, Kentucky Rep. Geoff Davis said his “poor choice of words is regrettable and was in no way meant to impugn you or your integrity. I offer my sincere apology to you and ask for your forgiveness. ….

“My comment... in no way reflects the personal and professional respect I have for you.”

Earlier, Obama’s campaign blasted the comments. “It's hard to tell what is more outrageous - Representative [Geoff] Davis' condescending and personal attack, or his absurd and offensive claim that Barack Obama is not prepared to defend America,” campaign spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement sent to reporters Monday afternoon.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The battle over the word "bitter" between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has sparked a new look at the candidates and their stance on the Second Amendment.

At a closed-door fundraiser just over a week ago, the Illinois senator referred to some small-town Pennsylvanians as "bitter" people who "cling to guns and religion."

"I didn't say it as well as I should have," Obama admitted in Muncie, Indiana, on Saturday, the day after he first defended his comments, "because the truth is that these traditions that are passed on from generation to generation - those are important."

Sen. John McCain will say Tuesday he wants to let Americans choose between two income tax systems.

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (CNN) - Sen. John McCain plans to outline plans Tuesday to revive a flagging economy - proposals that a top aide describes as "big and ambitious."

The presumptive Republican nominee wants to create an alternative income-tax system, reform the Medicare prescription-drug benefit and double the amount of an exemption that taxpayers receive for dependents, according to a copy of remarks he plans to deliver Tuesday morning.

McCain also says he wants Congress to declare a summer gas-tax holiday by suspending the 18.4-cent federal gas tax and 24.4-cent tax on diesel fuel from Memorial Day to Labor Day this year.

And he will reiterate his plans on the sub-prime mortgage crisis by offering people in danger of foreclosure a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage loan backed by the federal government.

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) - In a moment sure to irritate the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, the senator's name came up again in the trial of his one-time fund-raiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko. The testimony put Obama at Rezko's house for a party whose guest of honor was someone Obama has said he can't recall ever meeting.

Rezko is charged with influence-peddling and shakedowns in connection with Illinois state government. Obama is not charged with any wrongdoing.

Monday, as morning testimony was nearing the lunch break, Rezko's defense attorney, Joseph J. Duffy, was still plowing through his seventh day of cross-examining the government's star witness, Stuart Levine. Duffy, who has been methodically trying to establish instances in which Levine has lied to the government, asked Levine about a party held at Rezko's house in honor of an Iraqi-British businessman Nadhmi Auchi, who has been convicted of fraud in France - where he is appealing his sentence - and is suspected of doing business with Saddam Hussein when Hussein was ruling Iraq.

NY Times: With Faith in the Spotlight, Candidates Battle for Catholic Votes
Many years have passed since the Democratic Party was as much a part of American Catholic identity as weekly Mass and parochial school. But it still came as a shock to many Democrats to lose the Catholic vote, a key group in must-win states like Ohio, in the 2004 presidential election. It is an experience they are determined not to repeat.

WSJ: McCain Economic Plan To Show a Mixed Approach
Mixing austerity and tax cuts, Sen. John McCain will lay out Tuesday an economic plan that includes increased Medicare premiums for wealthy seniors and a one-year freeze on spending along with a proposal to review a vast swath of federal programs.

Philadelphia Inquirer: Democrats On Fence Look At Viability
For them, it's not a question of which candidate is right on the issues. They believe either one would pull the troops out of Iraq. They believe either one would be an advocate for the environment and a friend of the middle class. For undecided Democratic voters in the Philadelphia area, the question that rises above all others is this: Which candidate would better be able to stand up to Republican Party assaults and capture the White House this fall? Sen. Hillary Clinton? Or Sen. Barack Obama?

LA Times: John McCain 'Narrowly' Backs Law To Shield Journalists
Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said Monday that he supported federal legislation to protect journalists' confidential sources - a position that puts him at odds with the Bush administration, which contends that the legislation threatens national security.

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from the Best Political Team.

(CNN) - With the recent controversy created by Sen. Barack Obama's comments about residents of America's small towns, issues of faith now loom large over the 2008 White House race.

In the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily, Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley reports on how Obama is fighting back in the middle of onslaughts from both Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee.

Dana Bash reports on McCain's complex relationship with issues of faith and how McCain is trying to turn the Obama controversy to his advantage.

Jessica Yellin reports on the Democratic Party's efforts to win the votes of religious voters in the 2008 election cycle.

The 'bitter' controversy has raised the possibility that Obama's White House bid may be challenged by issues of socioeconomic class rather than issues of race as many pundits expected. Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider takes a look at how Obama has become ensnared in an issue that has doomed the candidacies of other so-called "New Democrats" like George McGovern.

Finally, check out two memorable moments from Monday's campaign events - watch Sen. Obama deal with an 'Obama'-'Osama' slip-up during an appearance before the Associated Press and watch Sen. McCain make fun of his age.